Will Herpes Ever Be Cured?

Herpes is a virus that can cause painful sores and blisters. There is no cure for it yet, but treatments are available to reduce symptoms and infectiousness. Researchers are exploring gene therapy as a potential cure for herpes.

Will Herpes Ever Be Cured?

Herpes is a virus that can affect the mouth or genitals, and there is currently no cure for it. However, treatments are available to reduce the symptoms and infectiousness of the disease. Some people with herpes don't have any symptoms for long periods of time, but they may still transmit the virus. Researchers have conducted several clinical trials to investigate vaccines against herpes infection, but there is currently no vaccine available on the market.

Keith Jerome began to explore the idea that lifelong herpes virus infections could be cured by using gene therapy tools to cut DNA. His team achieved its first promising results years ago with a single type of meganuclease that proved effective in cutting the DNA of the herpes virus, but the results were short-lived. Jerome estimates that there are at least three years to go before these experiments lead to the first human trials of gene therapy to cure herpes. Medications have come a long way in helping to suppress herpes, and it is possible that it can be cured in the future.

Some home remedies, such as petroleum gel or essential oils, can ease the discomfort caused by herpes lesions, but they don't help reduce viral load. If a person contracts any form of herpes virus infection, they will have it for life, whether they have symptoms or not. Pregnant women with symptoms of genital herpes should see a doctor, as there is a risk of neonatal herpes. A daily anti-herpetic medication may reduce your chances of transmitting the infection to your sexual partner(s).

If they experience any symptoms related to herpes, they should ask all their recent sexual partners if they have or may have oral or genital herpes. Even more dramatic, the story argued that herpes was “altering sexual rites in the United States, changing courtship patterns, causing thousands of patients to fall into months of depression and self-exile, and dealing a numbing blow to the one-night stand”.Herpes is a virus that can cause painful sores and blisters. There is no cure for it yet, but treatments are available to reduce symptoms and infectiousness. Researchers are exploring gene therapy as a potential cure for herpes, but it will be a long time before these experiments lead to human trials. Medications can help suppress outbreaks and some home remedies can ease discomfort caused by lesions.

Pregnant women with symptoms should see a doctor as there is a risk of neonatal herpes.